Road trip. Today was another day of work in Kamloops. A road trip to work and a chance to clear my mind. I cranked up the volume of my stereo and headed up the Coquihalla Highway. The highway rises from the valley and heads upward. My Chevy Duramax diesel eats the kilometres like a hungry snake as the road stretches towards the sky. I crank up the music and tune on the satellite radio, I enjoy the therapy of the Read more…
This week was the longest week of the summer. It was summer of chaos and adventure, a summer for the history books. Now summer is coming to an end. I couldn’t have picked a better ending than to be on a boat, cruising the crystal clear waters of Okanagan Lake. Sunday morning greeted my eyes with sunshine and blue sky. It was a greeting that I was very happy to see. After a week choking back oppressive smoke, and keeping Read more…
“I’ve got my head in a haze, feel like a cat in a cage. I’ve been crying for days and I’m falling apart… Digging a hole in my heart.” The song “Digging a Hole” by Big Sugar circles in my head. The last few weeks have been difficult ones, first, the boat broke. Then last Saturday my heart broke when my buddy left this world. The river of life keeps flowing and all I can do is swim hard and Read more…
Acrid smoke filled the morning skies in the Okanagan Valley. Smoke so thick I could taste it when I opened the door. I had hoped that we had avoided a summer of smoky skies. Unfortunately wildfires in California, Oregon, and Washington rage out of control. Fires so intense they could be seen from space. Smoke so overwhelming it covered much of the western part of North America. I looked out the window and searched for the sun. A yellow disc Read more…
I held his hand and searched his eyes. I knew he was still there, fighting. Fading… A brilliant light, a life well-lived no longer strong enough to continue. My best of friends, my brother has lost his battle. It was only a matter of time before the light in his eyes went out for the last time. I take small solace in the fact I got to say goodbye. Was I wrong to plead for him to fight on? Did Read more…
September 11 is a date that lives on in many people’s minds and hearts. For me, the date is etched in my soul as my father’s birthday. For much of the world, it is the day the World Trade Center fell crashing to the earth. It is a day full of reflection and sadness for me but also filled with gratitude. I am grateful that I had the fortune of being raised in a giving and loving home. It wasn’t Read more…
The moonlight gleamed upon the waters of Okanagan Lake. We held hands and wandered the peaceful shoreline in the town of Peachland. We connected in the silence of the evening as darkness enveloped the aquatic mirror in front of us. It was a moment of beauty, peace, and serenity that we clung to in the chaos of our recent days. Krista and I stared into the distance, breathing in the clear air and the calming presence of the lake and Read more…
Like slits in a pastel canvas, his eyes peaked up at me. With a flash, a revelation, they opened and I saw the soul of my brother once more. My friend was in there, I knew he was in there. It was a wash of relief upon me when I saw his eyes open. He looked at me with a startled expression, one that said: ‘What the fuck are you doing here?’ Then I saw a look of relief, of Read more…
Another Sunday on the books, September long weekend, and time is ticking away. My brother from another mother has time ticking away on him. Grasping at shadows and light he is lost. I want to find him, to help him come back to us. Delirium is what they have said it is. Held down by his mind and his body, I want to bring him back to the real world. A journey that is his and I don’t know the Read more…
Summer is going out with one last blast of amazing weather. The summer of 2020 will be remembered in many ways. One way is that the weather was great and the fires were minimal. The other way of course is the pandemic that changed our world. I prefer the first reason. Unfortunately, the covid19 pandemic will leave a permanent mark on our world, for 2020 and beyond. The saying is that we are all in the same storm, not the Read more…